Maritime district in Molenbeek becomes temporarily car-free zone | Brussels
For three months, the streets in the Maritiemwijk will be closed for through traffic, on the initiative of Filter Café Filtré. For example, the citizens’ collective, which advocates a liveable city, wants to give the neighborhood back to the residents. “We want people to be proud of their neighbourhood,” says Annekatrien Verdickt of the collective.
“August 5, a modal filter is in operation, a diagonal traffic cutout at the intersection of Van Den Boogaardstraat and Vanderstichelenstraat”, explains Annekatrien Verdickt of Filter Café Filtré. These traffic axes are attractive for drivers who want to avoid the busy Leopold II-laan or Havenlaan. “The Maritime District is a very dense and diverse part of the city, where few people have a garden. Moreover, the axles are fairly wide, which means that there is not only a lot of traffic, but also fast driving. That can lead to dangerous situations. Thanks to the cut, we can withstand the cut-through traffic in the area.”
The Maritime District will remain traffic-calmed until 5 November. But in the long run, the citizens’ collective hopes that the temporary traffic cut-off can become permanent. “We are currently in a test phase,” says Verdickt. “August is a quiet month, we have a soft entry period. But September and October are much busier months. So it remains to be seen what results we can achieve in those months.”
open streets
The car-free zone is the closing event of the annual OpenStreets, which is now in its third edition. This is organized by Filter Café Filtré to demonstrate what is possible in streets where there are no cars. “The first edition took place in the Picardstraat, which was a huge success,” says Verdickt. “Thanks to the OpenStreets, the street was revived, the residents literally spent their holidays there. It also increased social contact between neighbors. I live there myself and notice that I speak much more often than before.”
During OpenStreets, Filter Café Filtré organizes a whole series of activities in collaboration with various socio-cultural partners, such as KANAL-Centre Pompidou and Cultureghem. Last year, several streets in the Brussels Region were taken over. But this edition, the citizens’ collective opted for seven streets in the same neighbourhood, the Maritiemwijk. “We offer such a varied range of activities, where everyone is welcome, advanced age of background.” These range from dance initiations to games for the youth, but also cozy dining together on the street. “That makes it possible for social cohesion, and can ensure that people become proud of their neighbourhood,” concludes Verdickt.
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